


The Impossible Wardrobe

by poetheather



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2017-12-30 18:38:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetheather/pseuds/poetheather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Clara are diverted to a distant planet where they find a crashed TARDIS. Life goes crazy from there and things the Doctor thought he knew turn out to be wrong in the best ways. And when his wife shows up things get even more complicated. Doctor/ River/ Romana</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Takes place after Nightmare in Silver but before The Name of the Doctor. Some slight spoilers for The Name of the Doctor.
> 
> A/N 2: I had a fun idea and this is the result. Have an enjoyable read.

The Impossible Wardrobe

Poetheather

Owned by the BBC and the really clever people who have created these characters both classic and modern. Like anyone pays me for this.

“Come on Clara!” yelled the Doctor as he hustled towards the odd looking, smoking wardrobe lying on its back in the middle of the rocky wastes.

After landing on the third moon of Althazar due to the TARDIS forcing them there and throwing open the doors, the anomalous and impossible wardrobe had caught their eye immediately, as it appeared to be part rock in appearance and part eighteenth century woodwork. A funny colored smoke rose out of it and from the way light flickered within the smoke a fire possibly burned inside. In front of the wardrobe a figure lay on the ground, hidden under voluminous red robes with gold trim.

They scrabbled over the scree, sliding a few times on the loose shale until they came to a rest on the flat that held the wardrobe and the figure. The Doctor paused to catch Clara as she slid the last little bit, her arms were windmilling in an attempt to keep her from dropping on her butt. Clara grumbled, obviously displeased, “Flats and a dress are not exactly mountain climbing clothes Doctor.”

Checking on the readings from his sonic screw driver, his face screwed up in confusion, he answered absently, “Right, right, you’re absolutely right.”

The sky rumbled overhead and a flash of lightning lit some of the shadows that had been deepening as the clouds rolled in. The crash was closer than they wanted. The sonic screwdriver hummed out again and he snapped it up looking at the readings with even greater confusion. He muttered out, “That’s impossible…”

Clouds continued to gather overhead and the sky darkened quickly. Lightning was getting closer, leaping from cloud to cloud and sometimes lashing mountaintops, and wind began to blow, gaining speed. Scampering the last little bit up to the figure, the Doctor turned them over and when they saw their face he scrambled backwards away from them, falling on his rear, eyes wide, “No… no it can’t be. It can’t be.”

Clara moved closer, turned the figure, what appeared to be a young woman, the rest of the way onto her back. She had blond hair that spilled free of a ridiculous looking hat which looked like it was made out of circles standing upright and her face was scrunched up in pain. There was a scalp wound that was still bleeding, changing the color of one eyebrow and some of her hair. Looking over her shoulder towards the Doctor who was quite aghast, she frowned and shook the girl gently by her shoulder, “Hello? Hello? Are you alright?”

“No Clara, come away. She’s not… she can’t… come away. Please.” The Doctor stretched his hand out to her, beckoning her to him.

“Doctor she’s hurt. We can’t just leave her,” snapped Clara. She tried to read his eyes and what she saw there was pain and old pain at that as well as fear and confusion. What was going on?

“I… Clara, we can’t. Let’s go.” He got to his feet unsteadily, never taking his eyes off the robed figure. His kept trying to find some moisture in his mouth so he could swallow but that eluded him. She just couldn’t be here. The last he had known she had been on Gallifrey just before he had ended the Time War and trapped his people forever behind the time lock. She had been President even though that had apparently not held true to the very end. But this, this simply could not be.

Clara turned and looked at him. Droplets of rain began to fall and the lightning began to strike closer, bringing with is the rumble and crash of thunder, making her raise her voice, “We can’t leave her.”

Moving forward again, he reached out and touched the woman lying on the ground, and he felt that she really was solid, was actually there under his hand. This wasn’t a ghost. The readings of the sonic screwdriver had been correct. He struggled to control her turbulent emotions. “Right. You’re absolutely right Clara, we can’t.”

It was awkward, as this regeneration was all gangly and not as muscular as other earlier ones had been but he was able to pick her up in both arms. She felt light, lighter than he remembered and that worried him. Walking quickly to the half rock half wardrobe he yelled down in vain hope, “K9! K9… are you there?”

He didn’t know if the robotic dog still traveled with her but he had to check and see. The robotic dog had traveled with Leela and Leela had been with her. If he left her dog behind he would never hear the end of it. “K9?”

A weak and somewhat warbly sound rose up from the depths, “Master?”

“K9 can you make it up here?” He called down into the smoke.

“Affirmative.” The robotic dog did not sound sure to him, but how could he doubt K9?

“Hurry!” The rain started falling faster, heavy fat drops and the storm that had to have come up due to the crash of this TARDIS was building faster than he had expected.

Slowly the metallic form of K9 lifted free from the smoke, managing to make it out of the ship. “Master.”

“K9, we need to get to my TARDIS, do you think you can make it?” The Doctor looked at the scorch marks, missing ear, bits of exposed wiring and winced internally. This might not be pretty. He thought he might have the parts to repair him… maybe. After having survived a crash like that he hoped he could save the brave dog.

“Affirmative.”

“Right. Good dog. Let’s go. Clara, lead the way.” The Doctor followed Clara, trying to balance his load as he climbed up the unstable tumble of rock. It was getting harder to see thanks to the rain and he made sure to set his feet well before stepping. He even had to catch Clara somehow while juggling the body. And he hadn’t fallen. He was quite impressed. They were soaked to the skin by the time they made it inside the TARDIS.

The Doctor wasted no time heading towards the medbay, calling out over his shoulder, “K9, heel!”

Clara stared at the robotic dog and followed along behind, unsure what to say as this was a bit outside her experience, remarkable as it had been already. When she got to the medbay, the Doctor had pulled the soaking robes from the girl and was trying to check on her. She could hear him muttering over and over to himself, “Come on Romana, come on.”

“You know her Doctor?” asked Clara, looking between the blond girl on the bed, who looked smaller now without the robes, and the tall, gangly dark haired man.

Not taking his eyes off the unconscious Time Lady, the Doctor said, “Yes, her name is Romana and she is from where I’m from. There’s more to it of course but that’s all you really need to know right know and she’ll probably tell you the rest later when she wakes up. She and I used to travel together a long time ago.”

Clara furrowed her brows trying to figure that one out, “How long?”

“Very long. That’s… that’s not important right now. What is important is that she is here which shouldn’t be possible as she was trapped so here’s the question, how did she get here?” He turned to look at her.

“Why don’t you ask her?” asked Clara, shrugging slightly.

“Why don’t I ask her? Clara how can you ask someone who is unconscious things? Be serious.” The Doctor was clearly wound up and glared at her.

“Doctor?” a weak, shaky voice asked from behind him, a voice that shook him as it felt like it was from beyond the grave.

Clara smirked at him just before he spun around, arms in a near flail. He yelped out in surprise and delight, “Romana!”

“Is… is it really you?” She raised her hand slightly towards him.

He took her hand affectionately and held it lightly, “Yes, it really is. How did you get here?”

Romana sighed and said in a voice filled with exhaustion, “There was a moment, just one hope of escape, when Rassilon was reaching out towards the Master. I knew that you would be there, how could you not be, it was so very you, so I refused to stay and deal with that madness. Thus while all of the Panopticon was there trying to help force Gallifrey through the Time Lock I ran for a TARDIS. K9 followed me and Leela fell trying to get me through the guards trying to keep us in. Once I was in the ship, I managed to make it through the tiny gap that had been created but there was so much turbulence generated by the Lock and the TARDIS was knocked out of control. I couldn’t regain command over the ship and it started breaking up just before we crashed. That’s when I got injured badly. Then this happened. I don’t recall getting out of ship at all but I must have.”

The Doctor stared at her with a look of awe on his face. “You made it out through a tiny pinprick of a collapsing hole with a speeding TARDIS in the middle of a War? Romanadvoratrelundar you are positively brilliant.”

She smiled faintly. “Thank you Doctor. Coming from you that really is something. I feel a bit odd, like my teeth aren’t right.”

The Doctor’s face fell. What now? “Romana, what Regeneration are you on?”

“My third.”

“And your hair?”

“Black.”

“Romana, you look like your second Regeneration,” said the Doctor, staring at her in surprise. “You look exactly like your second regeneration.”

The blond on the table blinked at him a few times and then sagged down. “Well then, I guess I’m on my fourth regeneration. That does explain why I feel so exhausted. Besides, I always did like that body so I don’t mind going back to it.”

“I must admit that I did prefer this you,” said the Doctor with a smile.

“Thank you Doctor. I… I also wanted to let you know that I am sorry about your mother. She was trying to stop Rassilon and all that madness there at the end and the Panopticon turned on her. It was another motivating factor in my leaving. I am sorry I could not rescue her.”

The Doctor’s smile wavered slightly. “Thank you. Though she did her best to save me.”

Clara moved closer. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Romana blinked at her in surprise, starting slightly, reaching out at her, as if towards a ghost, “Os… Oswin?”

The Doctor snapped his head around to look at Clara and then back at Romana, trying to figure out the connection. “You know Clara?”

“Clara? You mean Oswin?” asked Romana, unsure what he was asking.

“You know me?” questioned Clara, clearly surprised that this stranger knew her.


	2. Chapter 2

Romana was resting in the medical bay, still recovering from the apparently quite rough regeneration and the Doctor and Clara were standing in the control room talking. “Are you going to get any spare parts from the wrecked TARDIS?”

The Doctor nodded absently, lost in other thoughts. “That sounds like a good plan.” He distractedly stroked the control panel, eyes distant.

“Do you have to do the work?” asked Clara, trying to engage him in conversation.

“We’ll think of something. Ah… well… no… I think the storm might have put out the fire. If so then the ship can probably repair itself given time which means another working TARDIS. I’ll just give it a scan first, take a quick look to see what’s what and then lock her up. If she’s dead then I will take parts but not before. Once that is done we can leave here and go someplace less… well less exciting.” said the Doctor with a bit of a smile, starting to grow more animated.

After a few hours’ work, they had locked up the recovering TARDIS and left the third moon of Althazar. The Doctor looked over at Clara who had helped him with the other ship, saying, “We should go somewhere fun and relaxing. I just thought that we should have a little vacation after all of this.”

Clara grinned. It was clear she agreed on that point. “I think a vacation sounds like just the thing.”

“So where do you think we should we go?” asked the Doctor, trying to figure out a nice distracting spot to travel to that would give them all time to relax. After all, he had just gotten over a shock, Clara had helped him tinker with a damaged TARDIS and Romana had escaped something that was supposed to be escape proof. Things had been a touch rough.

Clara looked thoughtful for a moment and then brightened, “Well, what does Romana like? She is the one who really needs the most recovery overall and so it should be more for her, right?”

“Clara Oswald you are brilliant!” He spun in place and began to get the TARDIS moving in a direction. The ship shook a bit and after a short while he shut things down, grinning wildly.

“You’re going to make me ask?” queried Clara, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“Prazoleon 4. While there are some worlds out there that focus on being theme parks, or resorts this world is known for housing the largest and most diverse collection of museums anywhere. Stuff from Earth is here as well as things from all over the known Universe. It is simply fabulous. Romana will love it. She adores museums.” asserted the Doctor, recalling several pleasant trips to museums with her. “We should see if she is ready to go.”

Rolling her eyes, Clara said, “It has been half a day Doctor. Do you really think she will be fine after all she has been through?”

“No. You’re right. We should get her scones.” He turned and headed for the door, plucking up his coat. “Coming Clara?”

She grinned, rolled her eyes, and followed after him into the streets of Prazoleon 4. It took them a little bit to find a place that sold scones and after a little bit of excitement with a lost child they made it back to the TARDIS with the bag of treats still in hand and none the worse for wear. The Doctor opened the door with a snap and waved Clara through with a flourish. Clara took a few steps in and froze making the Doctor almost crash into her. Looking up the stairs he saw the cause of the disturbance grinning down at him, all blond curly hair, sexy clothes and a grin that promised so much, “Hullo Sweetie.”

“River, what are you doing here?” asked the Doctor, somewhat flustered to see her there. There was too much going on and while her assistance was usually a good thing, usually, was it such a good idea now? He wasn’t sure.

“I was doing research on a project and then I heard such a familiar sound. You know she gets cross with you when you forget the brakes Sweetie. I arrived and no one was home so I made myself comfortable waiting for you. Shall we do books or do you have something else in mind?” Her grin grew and she winked at him there at the end, clearly having that in mind herself.

“I… uh… River now is not a good time.” The Doctor made his way up the stairs, almost tripping as he misjudged the last step. Amazingly he retained hold of the bag in his hand.

Rolling her eyes and ignoring him completely, she walked past him and headed towards Clara, hand extended, “Professor River Song.”

“Clara Oswald.” Clara shook her hand happily, wondering how this woman knew the Doctor so well and was able to traipse into the TARDIS so easily.

“Wonderful, now she was telling me that there was somebody in the medbay but I did not want to pry,” said River, an eyebrow quirked suggestively. “I figured that if it was your new companion it would be a terrible way to meet them.”

“I… no uh… right, she needed scones,” stated the Doctor, eyes searching for a way out of this conversation.

“She? Why Doctor, must I be jealous?” There was potential laughter in her voice as she spoke, eyes bright.

“No. Yes? No. Uh… I’m not sure how to answer that.” He seemed more uncomfortable and awkward than usual. He fidgeted with his bowtie as if it had grown tight.

Now he had all of River’s attention, her gaze a good bit sharper. “I believe that this is something that will require some clarification Sweetie. Now would be good.”

The Pond glare was there in full force and he never did well against the Pond glare and now he was on the TARDIS with two women he never did particularly well against and one that he didn’t quite understand. There really was no winning for him. He was vacillating between wanting to argue or giving in. He went with the usual choice. “I… come along Song.”

River rolled her eyes at that and sighed, knowing he was thinking about her parents. He always got maudlin when he did and she couldn’t blame him. She knew that he missed them. They walked through the halls and were soon at the Medbay. He stopped and said, “The person inside is a friend of mine from long ago. She’s a former Companion and a Time Lady, someone I thought I lost. Be nice River.”

She gave him that look and he sighed in resignation. He knew Pond women and there really was no arguing with them, the best you could do was distract them or keep from having the argument altogether. The door opened slid open and he walked in. As he noticed she was awake and sitting up a bit, he held the bag aloft, smiling a bit saying, “I got you scones, the kind you like.”

Romana gave him a fond look. “You remembered?”

He smiled even more. He really had missed her when she had decided that she had needed to serve on the Panopticon.

River walked into the medbay and into the woman’s sight. Romana’s smile grew even broader and she exclaimed excitedly, “River!”

River looked at the Doctor and then back at the blond woman, a bit at a loss. “You know me?”

“Oh…” Her smile faltered a bit. “I see… we haven’t met yet according to your perspective yet.” She held out a hand, a delicate smile on her face that made her seem even younger than she appeared. “Romanadvoratrelundar, a pleasure to meet you.”

River moved forward, extending a hand as well, saying, “Professor River Song.”

When their hands touched, Romana tugged her forward and River was surprised as the Time Lady pulled her into a hug. This was not a welcoming hug, but a desperate hug, the hug of someone who had been reunited with someone they thought was lost. It was tight and Romana had her face pressed against River, shaking a little.

River gave the Doctor a confused look and got one in return. This was a situation neither was all that familiar with. “Well… I guess we do know each other.”

Romana leaned back, giving her a disapproving look, her eyes a touch wet with unspent tears, “Prat.”

The Doctor turned away from this, coughing, trying to cover a laugh. He had never seen anyone treat River the way River treated everyone else. Clara just looked between the other three at a loss as to what the actual interpersonal dynamic was between them. And River did look a touch chastised and confused since it was obvious that this woman knew her like she had known the Doctor. Romana… she just continued to hug River, clearly happy with the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Romana was nibbling on her scone looking quite pleased with herself. The other three were still in a state of befuddlement at all she had said. Looking up, Romana asked with a cherubic smile, “Doctor, be a dear and get me some tea will you?”

“Ah… tea… yes… Clara, could you help me. You make better tea than I do. I have occasionally burned the water, though it was not my fault. And tea is just the thing after a troublesome regeneration I’ve always found. Helps reboot the system quite well.” He nodded a touch absently.

As the two of them walked out of the med bay River watched him go before she turned back to the woman in the bed and said, “Bless. Sometimes he is so hopeless. I take it you wished to speak with me alone?”

The smile that was given to the curly haired woman was full of life. “Yes. I figured I could explain this to you easier than I could to him, because he would get that way he does.”

River chuckled lightly, “He does have a way.”

“Behave. I am too tired and sore to play games with you darling.” Romana rolled her eyes in clear exasperation with the archeologist. “You usually listen much better than this.

“So you do know me?” River was deeply curious and just had to but in again.

Romana gave her a look, a very pointed look that made River button her lip. “Obviously. However it seems as if this is the first time you have met me which is ever so annoying. I had so hoped we were not going to be stuck like you and the Doctor but such is the vagaries of time. Nonetheless, I need you to believe me Melody we know each other and know each other rather well.”

Color drained from River’s face when she heard her first name used. It was a name she never used, not since trying to kill the Doctor in Berlin. Before that she had just used a shortened form of it. Even her father called her River now, accepting that part of her quite easily. Her Mum used her old name rarely and only when truly cross. So for this… stranger to know it… “How…?”

“For Rassilon’s sake, you are not an idiot River. Can you not think of several reasons where you might tell me the name you were born as opposed to the name you use?” The blond Time Lady seemed very frustrated with her right now, rolling her eyes.

River’s brain ran through several possibilities and they all seemed rather weighty. Then something pinged and refused to move on. It made her feel a bit dizzy the enormity of the idea. She moved over and dropped onto the bed heavily before looking up at the tiny woman, asking, “You mean?”

“Now there is the River Song I know. Yes, I do mean that. But we just met and… well, you know time. Just because that happened for me, does not mean that will happen for you or for us. It is at this point a potentiality in time rather than an absolute. It may happen and could again if we let it.” Romana seemed a touch sad and lost as she said that, as if some of her hope was being whisked away.

“But I’m married. I mean, being his wife is a touch problematic but still how? He is my husband.” protested River, though not too strongly.

Romana sighed heavily again, “I am aware of that River.”

River blinked again as if the world shifted under her feet once more. “So does that mean…?”

“Well, I must admit that this Doctor is not the more recent incarnation of his I am used to, but still.” The blond gave River a bit of a smile.

“So you and I… we…” River started laughing and was still laughing when the Doctor and Clara returned with a tray of tea supplies. They stood in the doorway looking at the two women in some confusion before he stammered out, “I… I have the tea… uh… hello?”

River stopped laughing, looked at the Doctor and then turned and looked at Romana again, who was blushing faintly, before she started laughing again. Romana reached out and smacked her on the arm, “Stop that.”

“A little harder and you’ll have my attention.” purred River playfully, giving the blond a wink.

“River!” said the Doctor as he goggled, eyes wide in surprise that his wife would flirt with another woman right in front of him.

“Yes Sweetie? Thank you ever so much for the tea.” Romana started giggling at the playful way that River was interacting with the Doctor.

The Doctor wanted to glare at the two of them, to make one of them say something, but it was difficult to be upset with either of them and he knew that it would never work anyway. “I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” replied River, with a smirk.

Clara decided that things needed to be interrupted before the conversation descended into more of a schoolyard spat than it already was. “So you said you know me?”

“I said I know a woman named Oswin who I must admit looks remarkably like you. She was a friend of mine back on Gallifrey and was still there when I left. I must say that when I first saw your face it threw me,” stated Romana, her voice perfectly calm. She went back to her scone as if the whole thing were unimportant.

“Oh. Well then.” Clara seemed a bit confused, trying to figure out why this strange woman might have known someone who seemed to be her only with a different name.

“Are you feeling better then Romana? I have to tell you we are on Prazoleon 4. I know how you love a nice museum and perhaps you would like to look about?” The Doctor gave his most disarming smile.

“Let me have some tea, then I’ll get dressed and we can go. I am feeling a good bit better than earlier. How is K9? He did make it, right?” She sounded rather nervous there and the Doctor could understand.

“Absolutely. I patched up good old K9 and he is as good as new. Had to go with the hover model did you?” He teased her gently.

“Well, with all the running it seemed like a better fit. The Mark 1 moved so slow. Instead of upgrading to the Mark 2 I simply had them install a hover feature so he could better keep up.” Romana seemed pleased with herself. “I also had them upgrade about everything else I could think of.”

“Yes, there is that. He did seem to be in excellent shape, just a few bumps and bruises.”

“And the TARDIS I took?” Romana asked a bit more hesitantly.

“A bit banged up but should be fully repaired in a bit. That mountain range you crashed into has plenty of suitable ores if it needs new materials and the ship seemed to be in good enough shape for self-repair. At least for the more major issues.” He grinned at her.

“A mountain range?” The blond looked at him strangely.

“Ah… yes… I thought you knew. You crashed into a mountain range and did quite a number on your ship.” That Doctor smiled weakly at her before looking over at Clara. “And I think the Chameleon Circuit is damaged as well.”

“What?” Romana looked a bit alarmed at that.

“Well, it’s nothing terrible Romana, not really. It just sort of looks like a wardrobe… with bits of mountain attached.” He finished slowly as if unsure if he should say the last.

“Bits of mountain attached?” asked Romana in some disbelief.

“It is trying to repair itself,” noted the Doctor, hoping it was enough to save himself. He was well aware of how she had constantly wanted him to repair the damaged circuit back in his fourth regeneration.

River jumped in at this point, making him oh so grateful, saying, “Why don’t we give Romana a little time to herself. She can finish her tea and get herself sorted. I suppose you remember the way to the closet? There really are some lovely outfits in there.”

“Thank you River. That sounds wonderful.” Romana gave her a very grateful look herself and River started trying to herd the others away before giving the blond a wink.

As the other three left the med bay and headed towards the control room, the Doctor turned to River and asked, “So what did you two talk about in there?”

River looked over at him, eyes sparkling with excitement and mischief, “Spoilers.”

“Aargh… River you know that makes me crazy,” complained the Doctor.

“I know, it’s delightful.” She brushed by him and walked into the control room. “So Clara… it is wonderful to have met. So where did the Doctor pick you up from?”

“London. There I was, minding my own business doing my job when this strange man shows up making my life difficult,” stated Clara, giving the Doctor a sidelong look.

“He does have a way with that.” River gave him a knowing look and a smirk.

The Doctor blushed slightly and chided her, “Now River, that’s not fair.”

“You’re right. Anyway, we have been so distracted with Romana we haven’t done books. I simply have no idea where we are.” She said as she pulled her blue journal free, flipping it to the appropriate section. “Have we done Jim the Fish?”

“Yes, Jim the Fish. Dams almost complete you know,” said the Doctor as he referenced his own book.

“Really now? How lovely. Easter Island?”

“Yes, I have Easter Island.”

“The Library…”

“The what!” The Doctor started and stared at River in some surprise.

“The Library of Alexandria, honestly Sweetie it’s like you don’t listen to me sometimes.” River rolled her eyes.

“Right, sorry must have had a bit of fluff in my ear. Let me see… uhm… no… I don’t see that.” There was a slight release of tension in the Doctor. He gave her a bit of a smile. “That one had to be fun.”

“Spoilers.” Her eyes held pure pleasure. “I’ll look forward to seeing you there.”

“Did you know about this?” waving his hand back towards the med bay. “Is that why you’re here?”

“No. I looked and oddly enough I have coming here, meeting you, dodging your companion while we have some fun for a few hours and then leaving. This… is different love.” admitted River, which shocked the Doctor.

“Perhaps her making it out of the time lock in that briefest of windows changed something in the time stream? I don’t know. It’s certainly possible,” mused the Doctor, struggling to make things fit together.

“Well… I must say I do like new.”


End file.
